I tried it! Treeline Treenut Cheese Product Review (Vegan/Vegetarian/Dairy Free)

Every so often, I have things I want to share that don’t fall within my normally scheduled articles, which is why I have a few types of articles which I post randomly. Here are the themes I have so far:

• “JUST THOUGHT YOU SHOULD KNOW…”
• “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?”
• “ALLERGY-FREE”

I’m adding a new theme called I TRIED IT! This series will include product reviews, as well as recipes and projects found on the internet/Pintrest, which I’ve tried for myself. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time. When I found the subject of today’s article, I knew it was just the right time to begin. (Just FYI…These are not paid reviews.)

TREELINE TREENUT CHEESE HERB-GARLIC FLAVOR

Let me give you a brief backstory, to explain why I decided to try this cheese. Over the summer, I did an Elimination Diet, to discover the underlying cause of my chronic sinus headaches. During that time, I discovered several foods that were contributing factors. One of those foods just happened to be dairy products, such as cheese. (Much to my chagrin!)

I LOVE cheese and miss it dearly. Yesterday, while I was at Whole Foods purchasing Grass-fed Creamline milk for my Pioneer Recipe, (Throwback Thursday), I looked at their vegan/non-dairy cream cheeses.

There were several brands, but the ingredients left something to be desired. (even the organic/non-GMO verified ones) Have a look:

DAIYA CREAM CHEESE

INGREDIENTS

Filtered water, coconut oil, tapioca starch, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, potato starch, pea protein isolate, sea salt, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, lactic acid (vegan source), agave syrup, natural vegan flavors, titanium dioxide (naturally occurring mineral), vegan enzyme, cultured sugar.

VEGAN GORMET

INGREDIENTS

(vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, non-gmo): Filtered Water, Palm Fruit Oil*, Soybean Oil*, Inulin (Chicory Root Extract), Soymilk Powder* (Soybeans*), Soy Protein, Agave Syrup*, Sea Salt, Soy Protein*, Lactic Acid (Plant Extracts), Rice Starch*, Lemon Juice Concentrate*, Natural Flavor (Plant Sources), Locust Bean Gum*, Xanthan Gum. *Certified Organic.
CONTAINS: Soy.

GO VEGGIE

INGREDIENTS

FILTERED WATER, COCONUT OIL, MID-OLEIC SUNFLOWER OIL, SOY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CORNSTARCH, SEA SALT, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, NATURAL VEGAN FLAVORS, ORGANIC LOCUST BEAN GUM, XANTHAN GUM, ORGANIC GUAR GUM, VEGAN CULTURE.

What’s in Treeline Treenut Cheese?

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll know that I advocate a whole food diet. There are, however, instances where purchasing ready-made/processed items just makes life easier.  When I purchase ready-made/processed food, I’m very careful what I buy. I carefully read the ingredients to make sure they are easy to read and there aren’t too many.  In other words, I try to purchase ready-made/processed foods which are made from whole food ingredients, NOT starches, oils, gums, phosphates, fillers, or isolated proteins. You don’t want a product, when you need a chemistry book to decipher the ingredients list. (If you can’t pronounce it…don’t put it in your mouth)

INGREDIENTS:

Cashew nuts, filtered water, sea salt, lemon juice, dried scallions, garlic powder, white pepper, onion powder, *L Acidophilus, dried basil, dried oregano.

*L Acidophilus is one of the most common types of probiotics and can be found in fermented foods, yogurt and supplements. Follow this link to see the benefits of consuming this probiotic. 

When I found this TREELINE TREENUT CHEESE,

I was very excited.

It passed the ingredients test,

but would it pass the taste test?

How did it taste?

It wasn’t white, like regular cream cheese, but it was quite creamy. It spread nicely on my gluten free paleo toast, much like cream cheese, but would it taste like cream cheese?

It was very good!

I was quite surprised, it actually did taste remarkably like cream cheese. There was an ever so slight hint of something, an after taste maybe, that distinguished it from real cream cheese, but hardly noticeable. It was there, but in the background. This jazzed up my toast beautifully. I can absolutely see it on a bagel.  I will more than likely buy this again.

(However -There are recipes on the internet to make your own vegan cream cheese with cashews. I’ll have to give them a try as well.)

What I love about this cheese:

It had simple, whole food, easy to read ingredients. There are no gums, oils, fillers, or starches. It’s just good, simple, wholesome ingredients…AND IT TASTES GOOD!

Are there any drawbacks:

• PRICE – It was quite pricey – $7.49 for one six ounce container. This is understandable, however, considering cashews aren’t exactly cheap.
• NOT ORGANIC – This product isn’t organic. I always try to buy organic whenever possible. Looking for the USDA organic seal will help ensure a good product, though not always. (as seen above)
• NOT PROJECT NON-GMO VERIFIED – This bothers me as well. This means it could have GMO ingredients. I try to look for the Project Non-GMO Verified sticker on labels. This doesn’t guarantee a good product, as we saw above, but it does help.
• IT’S NOT REGULAR CHEESE – What I mean by this is…it doesn’t shred or melt like regular cheese. Sometimes you just want some good gooey cheese!

Closing thoughts:

Overall this is a decent product and worth a second look, despite the price and lack of organic/non-gmo certification. It’s price does make me hesitate, however. I plan on making my own nut cheeses in the future. I’ll let you know how it goes.